Follow You Into the Dark
by Adrian Jade
Summary: Desperate, Homeless, and in a new city, AJ Fournier has very little choices. So working at Fangtasia could possibly lead to her death. At least it was a job.


December 18, 2009

Just a mere two days after her twenty-second birthday Alexia Jean "AJ" Fournier stepped out of her beat up old caddy that had been ancient when her father had bought it in the eighties. She had driven from the big city of Boston to Shreveport, Louisiana for one purpose and one purpose only, which of course would be to meet an actual vampire. This was the moment she had dreamed about since she was a young child. She had always had a morbid curiosity which seemed to fixate itself on vampires. The air seemed to warm to her to be December. It was about fifty that particular night as she stepped closer to the noise filled building. Larger speakers were pumping music from within the building but the bass of it made the foundation shake. She took a deep breath and bit down on her lower lip.

"Come on now AJ don't chicken out now. You are so close." She coached herself. She took another long and ragged breath and walked into the building. There was a smoky haze everywhere and if AJ were to be honest the amount of smoke in the building made her eyes and lungs burn. Struggling not to cough she scanned the area for any of the people she had seen on the website.

A tall slender woman with a permanent scowl on her face appeared before her. AJ let out a small squeak of fear after having been surprised. She knew that vampires could move at the speed of light but it was one thing to know and another thing entirely to see it with one's own two eyes.

"May I help you?" The woman with the scowl asked.

"Umm ... yes I saw that you had a bartender opening available and I was hoping to talk to someone about it." AJ tried her best to sound confident.. She bit down on her lower lip once again and did her best to keep eye contact with the still scowling vampire woman.

"Follow me." She began pushing her way through the throng of people. AJ did her best to keep up with the much faster woman and was proud of herself that she was able to stay just two steps behind her the whole time. She opened a door and motioned for AJ to go through.

"I'm AJ by the way." She introduced herself as she shuffled down a dimly lit hallway.

"Pam." The vampire woman replied back.

They walked in silence. AJ marveled at the fact that Pam could walk without even making a sound. But then again she was a vampire and that must be one of the perks.

"Pam, where are you taking me?" AJ could feel a little fear building in the pit of her stomach. Was it really wise of her to follow a vampire into an isolated hallway? Probably not.

"You wanted to talk to someone about a job." Pam remarked. "So I am taking you to Eric.'

"Eric?"

"He owns this hell whole." Pam explained.

"Ok. What's he like?" AJ, despite the mind-numbing fear she was currently feeling was even more intrigued.

"Look human if you want to be able to see the sun again tomorrow I suggest you stop asking me stupid questions."

"Sorry." AJ let out an embarrassed sniffle. Tears sprung to her eyes. She was one of those people who got really emotional very easily. "I didn't mean to be a bother."

"Well here we are. Good luck Blood Bag." With that she turned on her heels and walked soundlessly back the way she had came.

AJ took a few deep breaths before raising her hand to knock. But before she could even connect her closed fist with the door. It opened and she came face to face with the most startlingly beautiful man she had ever seen.

Her mouth was slightly agape as she stared at him. He was tall with broad shoulders. His skin looked smooth but rippled over his muscular forearms. His eyes were a striking blue color. The same color of a clear Caribbean ocean. He was wearing jeans and a fitted black tank top.

"May I help you?" He asked in a cool yet polite tone. AJ continued to stare at him and he crossed his well built arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow.

AJ shook her head. "Ohh ... I ... I'm here about the vacant bartender position." AJ stuttered completely embarrassed with her gawking.

"Come in." He moved aside and let her into his office. She stepped into the small room and he closed the door behind them. "So what makes you think you have what it takes to work in a place like this?" He asked having a seat in his desk chair.

"Well besides the fact that I am a walking alcoholic encyclopedia. Seriously you name any drink and I can tell you what is in it."

"Sex on the beach." He named the first drink that popped into his head.

She sat back in her chair. "Peach Schnapps, Vodka, cranberry and orange juice. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. That drink served up by a hot bartender can be a deadly combination."

"Is there anything else that would make me want to hire you?"

"I'm not afraid of you." AJ blurted out. She wanted to throw her hand over her mouth but she didn't. Maybe it was better for her to point that out from the beginning.

She blinked and he was standing before her. "Are you sure." His teeth were bared but even then she wasn't scared. She stood up as well and stared at the monster before her.

"Nope." She could honestly say. "Call me an idiot but I cannot make myself fear vampires."

"That is a very dangerous way of thinking." Eric retorted. His teeth were still bared. She had to resist the curious urge to bring try and touch them. "Maybe I can glamour you into thinking otherwise."

"Won't work." She countered him. "Where I am from they taught us how to defend our minds against vampire influences while we were in high school." She grinned cockily at him. "So that is another great reason why you should give me a job. That and the fact that I have no money and am in desperate need of a job."

"Where exactly are you from?"

"Boston." She informed him.

"So you moved all the way from Boston to work at a vampire bar?" He asked a little intrigued. Why would anyone do such a foolish thing?

"Not exactly but we can go with that if you wish." She supplied. He waited for her to tell him why she had moved to Louisiana but she did not. Instead she stood there waiting patiently for an answer to whether or not she had the job.

"What's your name?" He was annoyed but her unreasonable calm in his presence. She obviously knew that he could kill her at any moment but she seemed unphased by that. What annoyed him even more was that he even cared that she did not fear him. What was she to him? Just some walking meal ticket.

"My name is AJ." She replied.

"You have a week. Do not make me regret this."

"Oh my god! Thank you!" She gushed. "I swear you will not regret this." He could already tell that she was going to be one of those bubbly people that he hated more than the rest of the humans that walked around among him. He was definitely going to end up draining her before the week's end. He could just feel it coming.


End file.
